![]() ![]() Tortoise eggs and/or hatchlings are collected from natural nests of these Critically Endangered species and brought to the Center. ![]() In addition to Pinzón and Española, juvenile tortoises reared in captivity for eventual release back into the wild come from Santa Cruz and Santiago Islands.A third Española male was returned to Galapagos in 1976 from the San Diego Zoo. ![]() These were brought into captivity and a tortoise breeding program began. On Española Island, only 14 tortoises remained (2 males and 12 females).Without help, this population would eventually disappear. Throughout the 20th century, all hatchlings had apparently been killed by black rats, which were accidentally introduced to the island in the late 1800s. At the time, the Pinzón tortoise population consisted of fewer than 200 old adults and no juveniles. The Fausto Llerena Tortoise Center on Santa Cruz was started in 1965 to save the tortoise population on Pinzón Island.Since 2014, with the launch of the Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative, Galápagos Conservancy scientists have served as advisors to ensure continued long-term success of all tortoise centers. The Tortoise Center on Santa Cruz was originally established by the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) in 1965, then run jointly with the GNPD, which assumed all management responsibilities in 1998. There are two Tortoise Centers in Galápagos, all managed by the Galápagos National Park Directorate with the support of Galápagos Conservancy. In May 2010, 39 hybrid adult tortoises were sterilized and then released onto Pinta Island to act as ecosystem engineers during the vegetation recovery period following goat eradication.The first of nearly 2,000 juvenile tortoises returned to Española Island reached sexual maturity and have been reproducing naturally on the island since the early 1990s.As of the end of 2017, more than 7,000 juvenile tortoises had been returned to their island of origin – including Española, Isabela, Pinzón, San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz, and Santiago.The fifteenth species, from Santa Fe Island, went extinct in the mid-1800s as there is no complete museum specimen, only pieces, the species was never officially described or named. In the case of the Fernandina tortoise, it is probably extinct but anecdotal information suggests that a few individuals may remain. According to the IUCN Red List, six are considered Critically Endangered, three Endangered, three Vulnerable, and two Extinct. Introduced species (primarily rats, pigs, dogs, and the Solenopsis ant) prey on tortoises (particularly eggs and hatchling tortoises) others (goats, cattle, donkeys, and invasive plants) damage or destroy tortoise habitat.Ī total of 15 tortoise species have been identified. Today, limited poaching of tortoises still occurs in some areas. Humans, primarily buccaneers and whalers, exploited them as a food source during the 18th and 19th centuries. Giant tortoise species, along with the endemic rice rats, were the most historically decimated species in the Galápagos Islands. ![]()
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